Overview on Medicinal Herbs Used for             Cancer Therapy

Ms. Sakshi Gunjarge*, Mr. Gopal Lohiya, Dr. Kranti Satpute

Dayanand education society’s , Dayanand College of Pharmacy , Latur -413512, Maharashtra

Correspondence: sakshigunjarge@gmail.com ; Tel.:+918421754143

DOI:

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INTRODUCTION

The disease was first name cancer by the Greek physician Hippocrates. Father of Medicine, who applied Greek words “carcinoma” and “Karakinos” to diseases a tumor.Cancers are a family of diseases that involve abnormal growth of the cells which spreads to other parts of the body. Cancer was named about the type of tissue from which they arise.Tumors resulting from epithelia are called “carcinomas.” In both genders, cancers of the lung. Colon. And rectum are the most significant problem. Breast cancer is common in women and prostate cancer in men. Breast cancers are not quite as prevalent as these “major four” diseases. They include carcinomas of the bladder, stomach, liver, kidney, pancreas, esophagus, and cervix and ovary in women. Epidemiology of cancers is melanoma. Testicular cancer is the most frequent cancer affecting young adult males.

Unfortunately, neither incidence nor mortality of human cancer has been much depreciating by conscious human intervention over the past years. Surgery and radiotherapy are a successful treatment in many cases, and chemotherapy is moderately efficacious for some advanced cancers. In general, a modification made in cure and survival rates for these. Modern cancer therapy identifies that not presently available treatments can cure every malignant tumor. Hence, treatment needs to be carefully chosen to maximize the chance for a cure while retaining a maximum of life quality. Significant steps toward successful treatment were made with specific cancers. Those modifications had a small effect on the impact of cancer on the overall population but have helped many individuals. Often young people and children. Hence, better knowledge of the molecular and cellular basis will eventually open the door to successful treatment of the primary carcinomas, as will the development of new drugs and new therapies based on the results of molecular biological cancer research.

CAUSES OF CANCER:

The majority of cancers are due to environmental factors. The main reason of cancer are related to the environmental, lifestyle or behavioural exposures. The ecological factors that contribute to cancer death include chemicals in tobacco smoke, radiation, such as ultraviolet rays from the sun, obesity, stress, lack of exercise and environmental pollutants. Exposure to substances linked to specific types of cancer such as exogenous chemical, physical, or natural carcinogens.

CANCER BY GENETIC CHANGES:

Changes in genes disease. The mutation in the different types of a gene often are associated with different forms of cancer. These altered or mutated genes can be broadly classified into three groups, such as proto- oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and DNA repair genes.

Proto-oncogenes:

1.       These genes involved in healthy cell growth and division. Alteration in these genes may become cancer-causing genes.

2.       Tumor suppressor genes involved in controlling cell growth and division.

DNA repair genes participate in repairing damaged DNA. Mutation in these genes develops additional variation in other genes. These mutations may cause the cells become cancerous.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CANCER AND CANCER CELLS:

Human diseases share several essential features:

•       Increased cell proliferation (often autonomous)

•       Insufficient apoptosis

•       Altered cell and tissue differentiation

•       Altered metabolism

•       Genomic instability

•       Immortalization (growth beyond replicative senectitude)

•       Conquering into different tissue layers and other tissues

•       Metastasis to local lymph nodes and distant tissues.

CLASSIFICATION OF CANCER:

Cancer is classified regarding the site of origin of the malignant cells; the histology or cell lysis (called grading); and the extent of disease (called staging).

Site of cancer origin

This classification describes the tissues in which the cancer cells begin to develop. Following are the examples of the location of tumorgenesis categorization.

•       Adenocarcinoma (prostate cancer) – originates in gland cells.

•       Blastoma (embryonal carcinosarcoma) –arises in fetal tissues.

•       Carcinoma (cancer) –originates in epithelial tissue.

•       Myeloblastic Leukemia – occurs in tissues which generate cells of blood.

•       Lymphoma (malignant neoplastic disease) – occurs in tissue.

•       Myeloma – a tumor of the bone marrow composed of cells normally found in bone marrow.

•       Sarcoma – originates in connective tissue such as bone, cartilage, and muscle.

Histological classification

Cancer is classified histologically by the location of the tumor. Histological typing of tumors performed by evaluating their morphology. A tumor is histologically classified from surgical specimens. Biological markers improved tumor classification by histopathological classification. For hematological classification, genetic science techniques are used.

Staging classification

The extension of a tumor is defined by“staging.” Two types of stages were described as follows:

Clinical stage:

1.       Before surgery, a clinical stage is defined by visual examination, pulsation, and various imaging techniques. These methods use ultrasound. X-rays, computed tomography, and magnetic

resonance, “c” prefix denotes it.

Pathological stage:

2.       After surgery performed, a more precise examination of the tumor can be made by inspection of the tumor site and by histopathological investigation of the specimen.

The stage defined pathological stages, and “p” prefix denotes it.

Mostly used and systematic staging system is the tumor, node, and metastasis system.

Cancer is classified by tumor size (T), the degree of node development (N), and distant metastasis (M), while others remain in use for specific cancers.

CANCER TREATMENT:

Methods of cancer treatment

Surgery and chemotherapy are considered as the most common methods of cancer treatment; these methods have severe side effects in use. One of the biggest problems in cancer treatment is gradually increasing the resistance of cancer cells against treatment. Therefore, developing a new approach is one of the improve cancer treatment results. Nowadays, herbal medicines have played a significant role in controlling cancer symptoms and treatments role in controlling caner symptoms and treatments with minimizing side effects. Some medicinal herbs induce apoptotic pathways through various mechanisms in cancer cells. Medicinal plant constituents include vinca alkaloids (vinblastine and vincristine), taxanes (paclitaxel and docetaxel), podophyllotoxin, and its derivatives (topotecan and irinotecan). Camptothecins have clinically used as plant-derived anticancer agents. A list of marketed anticancer herbal medicines are given in Table 1.

Herbal medicines in cancer treatment

In India, herbal medicines have been used for centuries to treat many different health problems. It includes plants or mixture of plant extracts to treat illness and promote health. Herbal medicines are one of the most generally used complementary and alternative methods by people with cancer.

Medicinal plants with anticancer activity

Cassia fistula

It is a plant also known as golden shower in the family Fabaceae. C. fistula had many medicinal properties such as purgative and laxative and was used for various disorders such as hematemesis, pruritus, leukoderma, and diabetes. C.fistula is a primary sourdce of naturally occurring bioactive compounds. Bioactive compound polyphenolics present in this plant proved to be important. Nontoxic chemopreventive agents against various oxidative stresses in both in vitro and in vivo.

Terminalia arjuna

It is a tree of genus Terminalia representing a substantial tropical component of the family

Combretaceae also known as arjuna. Various Terminalia species had used in traditional treatments of cancer. Photochemical luteolin, gallic acid, and ethyl ester in T. arjuna provide scientific evidence supporting the traditional medical application of extracts of this tree in cancer treatments.

Cissus quadrangularis

It is a medicinal plant belonged to family vitaceae and known as asthisamhara in Sanskrit, meanting “which will strengthen the bones.” The plant contains significant amounts of Vitamin C, carpteme, anabolic steroid substances, and column. It is used as an antioxidant in many applications.

Psoralea corylifolia

The seeds of P. corylifolia had used as an ancient Hindu remedy for leukoderma which belongs to family Fabaceae. The furanocoumarin psoralen from P. corylifolia seeds has been shown to be active against cutanecous T-cell lymphoma and cytotoxic in vitro to cultured mucoepidermoid carcinoma cells of MEC- 1 cell line. P.corylifolia seed extract PCSE possesses an immunomodulatory activity and increases in the cell-mediated and humoral immune responses.

Eclipta Alba

E. alba is called Bhringaraja, considered a primary liver herb in Ayurveda. Hydroalcoholic extract of E. alba was shown to possess antiporliferative, apoptotic, and anti-invasive activities.

Gymnema Sylvestre

G. sylvestre is a plant that found in the forests of India. Five water-soluble polysaccharides (GSP11, GSP22, GSP33, GSP44, and GSP55) were obtained from G. sylvestre having the potential of natural antitumor agents.

SAFETY AND PHARAMACEUTICAL INTERACTIONS OF HERBAL MEDICINES:

Security is defined as a condition in which a substance of a drug is targetd to be safe or dangerous and showing potent effects against long-term and short-term side effects. Since herbal products used plants, extracts, and mixtures which are natural, so they were often safe for treatment. Howerver, in some cases, different adverse effects were reported by administration of some herbal medicines through various mechanisms such as direct toxicity of plant, allergy, plant pollutants kuke lead, mercury, arsenic, and pharmaceutical interactions with other medications. Herbal-drug interactions were particularly pertinent in such cases like when cardiovascular medications such as digoxin and warfarin with a narrow therapeutic index were administered with herbal drugs that can potentiate or reduce pharmacologic effects of medicine. Thus, an appropriate counseling has been done by health-care professionals to patients about use of herbal drugs. For this puroose, adesquately designed clinical trials are conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of herbal medicine, like the possible interaction with medications.

HERBAL MEDICINES AND CHEMICAL DRUG INTERACTIONS:

Two types of interactions are shown with the administration of herbal medicine and chemical drugs.

Pharmacodynamic interaction

Pharmacodyanamic interactions defined as a drug or herbal product affect a tissue or organ. This type of interactions affects the activity of medicine such as an increase (synergistic property) or decrease (antagonizing property) in drug effect. For example, genistein used in human prostate adenocarcinoma PC3 cells with combination usage of B-lapachone-genisteininduced apoptosis is more officious. Valerian is herbal compound used as a painkiller was reported to decrease with the administration of benzodiazepine.

Pharmacokinetic interaction

Pharmacokinetics effects such as absorption, dissemination, metabolism, secrtetion, and toxicity of administerd medicines affected by herbal medicines. Such type of communications has especially shown when  herbal constiuents affect hepatic enaymes like interactions between ginseng and warfatin. Ginseng reduced anticoagulation effects of warfarin plasma level reduced. Even though most people believe that natural treatments are safe inherently, herbal medicine may cause some dangers.

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE ASPECTS:

In this review, we have come to the conclusion that many natural medicinal herbs can be used as effective medicines for cancer treatment. We have found that many herbaceous plants for cancer treatments, but there had been not enough research. Replacement of herbal medicine is not possible, but it can be used for cancer treatment. Using herbal medicines, we can overcome the side effects of the conventional method of cancer treatment such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Examininig the fact that little was known about efficacy, safety, and use of herbal products, and not paying attention, further research can improve appropriate use of plants in cancer treatment.

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